The present invention relates to a communication system, which is connected to another communication apparatus through a communication medium, and consists of a controller which has a facsimile communication function, connects a plurality of telephone terminals, and performs channel control with the telephone terminals, and the telephone terminals connected to the controller.
The present invention also relates to a communication system comprising, e.g., a plurality of telephone communication apparatuses, and a facsimile apparatus and, more particularly, to a communication system in which these communication apparatuses can share index number dialing function.
The present invention further relates to a communication system incorporating a line control unit and a facsimile communication control unit, and can connect a plurality of telephone terminals.
As a conventional communication system constituted by connecting a plurality of telephones and a plurality of data communication apparatuses through a plurality of communication media, a system comprising a main controller which accommodates a large number of telephones lines and outside lines connected to facsimile apparatuses and key telephones and performs channel control among telephone lines is known.
FIG. 53 shows the arrangement of this system. As shown in FIG. 53, facsimile apparatuses 110 and 111 and a plurality of key telephones A 102, B 103, and C 104 are respectively connected to extensions 130 to 134, and a main controller 101 for performing channel formation control among these extensions and channel control among the extensions and connecting outside lines 121 to 123 is arranged. The main controller 101 also comprises a power supply unit for supplying power to the key telephones.
As another example, telephone lines 130 and 131 connected to the facsimile apparatuses 110 and 112 are separated from the remaining extensions 132 to 134. Normally, these lines 130 and 131 are connected to two of the outside lines 121 to 123, and each comprises a pair of signal lines which are disconnected from the outside lines using a manual selector or the like. The key telephones 102 to 104 are used as special-purpose telephones for the main controller. Each of the telephone lines 132 to 134 serving as connecting telephone lines comprises a total of two pairs of signal lines, i.e., a pair of control and power supply signal lines in addition to normal telephone line signal lines.
In this system, however, the key telephones and the facsimile apparatuses are not related to each other, and the facsimile apparatuses are merely connected to the controller of the key telephones and are not systematically connected. For this reason, this system has only a function of originating a call through the telephone lines of the facsimile apparatuses when the telephone line connected to the facsimile apparatuses is not busy.
When the facsimile apparatus as a non-telephone terminal receives information, a user must come to the non-telephone terminal to check if information reception is performed. If not, he or she cannot know the presence/absence of reception.
If the user knows that data reception was performed and comes to the facsimile apparatus to check if the received data is one addressed to him, the received data is often one addressed to a third party, and he often proves fruitless.
In order to avoid this, in addition to data transmission, a calling party calls a party to be called using another telephone line, and then transmits information to the called party, or must send a message indicating that the information has been transmitted.
When data reception or transmission processing is performed, a user cannot know when the communication is ended, and must frequently come to the communication apparatus to check if the communication is ended when there is urgent transmission data. In particular, when a user sits far from the facsimile apparatus, this results in poor efficiency.
When the facsimile apparatus as the non-telephone terminal performs data communication, a transmission-side operator cannot send specific information to a reception-side operator. More specifically, if letters "emergency" are inserted in a part of transmission image information, a receiver does not perform special processing for these letters, and only prints out these letters together with other information.
When the facsimile apparatus as the non-telephone terminal performs confidential reception, apparatuses other than one which performed this reception cannot detect the confidential reception.
Therefore, a user must come to the non-telephone terminal to check if the confidential reception is performed. If not, he cannot know the presence/absence of confidential reception.
When confidential reception is performed, the non-telephone terminal (e.g., the facsimile apparatus) cannot be effectively used unless the received data is output. When confidential reception is performed, it is preferably detected as quickly as possible.
While the facsimile apparatus as the non-telephone terminal performs information transmission/reception, a talking reservation cannot be made using a telephone, and the talking (telephone) reservation can only be made using an additional telephone integrally connected to the facsimile apparatus.
For this reason, a user must come to the non-telephone terminal every time he wants to make telephone reservation.
When the facsimile apparatus as the non-telephone terminal receives information, even if an amount of remaining recording paper sheets becomes small and hence, the number of sheets to be received becomes small, the user must come to the facsimile apparatus to check the remaining amount. For this reason, the user cannot know an exchange timing of recording paper, and reception is often interrupted.
The conventional facsimile apparatus or private telephone apparatus normally comprises an "index number dialing" function.
This function includes an "index number dialing" function in a narrow sense with which call originating processing is performed using a telephone number registered beforehand in correspondence with an index number upon depression of a combination of a key for selecting (designating) an index number function and a numerical key for inputting an index number, and a "one-touch dialing" function for originating a call of a registered telephone number upon depression of a single key.
Facsimile apparatuses and telephones must be connected to a central office network to provide their functions. However, since the facsimile apparatus is not always operated, it is inadvisable to fix one telephone line specially for the facsimile apparatus in view of running cost or the like.
In this situation, the present applicant proposed a facsimile apparatus incorporating a line exchange circuit. With this facsimile apparatus, a plurality of telephones and the facsimile apparatus share a central office line, and its exchange operation is performed by the line exchange circuit incorporated in the facsimile apparatus.
In this case, the telephone and the facsimile apparatus have basically different functions. An index number registered in the facsimile apparatus cannot be used by the telephone, and vice versa. In general, registration of an index telephone number to a telephone and that to a facsimile apparatus should be performed separately.
However, in view of cost of the apparatuses, it is preferable that index numbers are commonly used.
When a facsimile apparatus with a handset is used, the handset can be used as a handset for a telephone. When a call is originated from this handset, an index telephone number registered to the normal telephone is preferably accessed.
In a conventional communication system incorporating a line control unit and a facsimile communication control unit and capable of connecting a plurality of telephone terminals, when a telephone reservation is made using a telephone reservation function of facsimile communication, an operator call is made after message transmission is completed.
The conventional telephone reservation processing will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 54 and 55.
FIG. 54 illustrates a case wherein a telephone reservation is made from a transmission side, and FIG. 55 illustrates a case wherein a telephone reservation is made from a reception side.
A case will be described first with reference to FIG. 54 wherein a telephone reservation is made from the transmission side.
When a telephone reservation was made and message transmission was ended, the transmission-side apparatus sends out an RTC (Return To Control) signal indicating the last line data of a one-page message. The transmission side then sends out a preamble (a frame used for performing synchronization at the reception side in order to normally receive a binary code information portion following the preamble), and a PRI-Q signal (transmission-side telephone reservation signal). For example, the PRI-Q signal can be sent out a maximum of three times at equal time intervals until a response signal indicating that an operator answers the phone from the reception side is detected.
When the response signal from a party called is detected, the transmission side causes the facsimile communication control unit to generate a ringing tone of a telephone, thus performing a call of an operator who made the reservation. After a transmission-side operator who made the telephone reservation responds to this call, the transmission side sends out a PRI-Q signal (indicating off-hook), and switches a telephone line from the facsimile communication unit to a special-purpose connecting telephone. Thus, voice communication is allowed.
On the other hand, when the above-mentioned PRI-Q signal is received, the reception side causes the facsimile communication control unit to generate a telephone ringing tone to perform an operator call. When the operator answers this call, the reception-side apparatus sends out a "preamble+PIP/PIN" (reception-side operator answers the phone), and switches a telephone line from the facsimile control unit to a special-purpose connecting telephone. For this reason, when the transmission-side operator answers the phone, talking communication is allowed.
The operator call from the transmission side has been described.
A case will be described with reference to FIG. 55 wherein a telephone reservation is made from the reception-side apparatus.
When transmission of a one-page message is completed, the transmission-side apparatus sends out a "message+RTC" signal, and then sends out a "preamble+Q" (post message signal). Then, the transmission-side apparatus waits for a response signal from the reception-side apparatus.
In this case, since the telephone reservation was made at the reception-side apparatus, the response signal PIP/PIN (telephone reservation from the reception side) is received from the reception-side apparatus. When this signal is received, the facsimile communication control unit generates a ringing tone of a telephone to perform an operator call. When an operator answers the phone, a PRI-Q signal indicating that the operator is on the phone is sent to the reception-side apparatus, and a telephone line is switched from the facsimile communication control unit to the special-purpose connecting telephone.
When the telephone reservation was made and the post message signal Q is received, the reception-side apparatus sends out the signal PIP/PIN since the telephone reservation was made. When the PRI-Q signal from the transmission side, indicating that the operator is on the line, is received, the facsimile communication control unit generates a telephone ringing tone to perform an operator call. When an operator answers the phone, the signal PIP/PIN indicating an operator's response is sent out, and a telephone line is switched from the facsimile communication control unit to the special-purpose connecting telephone. Thus, talking communication is allowed.
Note that a hatched portion in FIGS. 54 and 55 indicates a preamble. This also applies to FIGS. 11, 12, and 13 to be described later.
However, in this case, the telephone line connected to the apparatus is connected to the facsimile communication control unit, and is not connected to a telephone terminal. For this reason, a ringing tone of the operator call is generated from only the facsimile communication control unit. Therefore, when an operator sits far from the facsimile communication control unit, he cannot often answer the phone.